Too Little, Too Late? McCain v. Obama on Global Warming

photo: Obama For America

Barack Obama on Global Warming

In terms of what percentage of greenhouse gas reduction will mandated under an Obama-Biden administration, the official campaign literature indicates that an 80% reduction by 2050 will be ordered (Obama-Biden 2008). This will be achieved in part through an “economy-wide cap-and-trade program.”

Obama has indicated that “putting a price on carbon is the most important step we can do to reduce carbon emissions”, going on to say,

Carbon Emissions Cap First Priority

As president, my first priority to combat global warming will be enacting an economy-wide cap on U.S. carbon emissions that will reduce U.S. emissions by the amount scientists agree is necessary (80%) for the U.S. to bear an equitable share of the global emissions reduction burden. I will devote significant resources from a permit auction toward accelerating the development and deployment of low carbon technologies, addressing the economic challenges imposed on key industrial sectors, and providing meaningful incentives for action by developing countries. (LCV)

In an environmental factsheet that the Obama campaign has released, he expresses support for an reducing an important source of greenhouse gas emissions, and one which we cannot ignore:

Reduce Tropical Deforestation

A comprehensive strategy to combat global warming must address tropical deforestation, which accounts for approximately 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing rates of tropical deforestation will not only slow greenhouse gas emissions but will also protect the livelihoods of local people and the abundance of biodiversity inextricably linked to those forests.

By offering incentives to maintain forests and manage them sustainably, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (Promoting a Healthy Environment)

When the League of Conservation Voters asked Obama about greater US involvement in international global warming partnerships he indicated that he would do so:

Recapture the Moral Authority on Climate Change

As the world’s largest emitter [TH note: China now has this distinction], most vibrant economy, and technological leader, the United States must assert leadership to fight global warming both at home and abroad. By adopting an aggressive cap on domestic emissions, the U.S. can begin to confront the problem while recapturing the moral authority to lead the world toward an effective and equitable solution. A successful approach to climate change requires that all major emitting nations actively participate in the solution. While the United States must lead, we must ensure that China, India, Brazil and all our major trading partners also move quickly to confront this shared global challenge. (LCV)

What form would this leadership take?

Creating a Global Energy Forum

[We] will create a Global Energy Forum—based on the G8+5, which includes all G8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa—comprised of the largest energy consuming nations from both the developed and the developing world, which would focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues. The Global Energy Forum will complement, and ultimately merge with, the much larger negotiation process underway at the UN to develop a post-Kyoto framework. (Promoting a Healthy Environment)

Though it obviously doesn’t elucidate on specific policy prescriptions, the following quote (undated, unfortunately) does indicate the seriousness with which Obama views the need to address global warming:

Ignore Global Warming at our Peril

The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. There may still be disputes about exactly how much we're contributing to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and how much is naturally occurring, but what we can be scientifically certain of is that our continued use of fossil fuels is pushing us to a point of no return. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on these fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country, we are condemning future generations to global catastrophe.

Biden: Global Warming Definitely Man-Made
Joe Biden has expressed equally strong commitment on the issue of climate change, and in the vice-presidential debate set himself in strong opposition to the views of Sarah Palin. On the issue of whether the cause of global warming is important in determining a course of action, Biden replied,

If you don't understand what the cause is, it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution. We know what the cause is. The cause is man made. That's the cause. That's why the polar ice cap is melting.

Will these emission reductions be enough?

---